Columbia police officers responded to a report of armed robbery Thursday morning at Flow’s Pharmacy after the suspect pointed a handgun at the clerk demanding pain medication.

Officers arrived at Flow’s Pharmacy on Broadway within a minute of the call, but the suspect was already gone. The police did not find the suspect in their original search.

Columbia Police Department spokeswoman Latisha Stroer said the motive behind the Flow’s Pharmacy robbery was prescription medication.

During the investigation, responding officers learned the suspect came in soon after the pharmacy opened and asked for headache medicine. Then he walked around the counter and approached one of the clerks from behind. The suspect demanded pain medication from the clerk while pointing a handgun at them, a CPD news release stated.

“There could be quite a few reasons why he wanted the pain medication,” Stroer said. “One that I can think of is that he’s addicted to them. Or it could be he was going to sell them to make money and there could be several reasons for that.”

The clerk gave the suspect the pain medication. Then the suspect left the store and ran away from the area. No one was injured during the robbery.

“Yes, we know what type of pain medication he took, but we’re keeping some information private for the investigation,” Stroer said.

If caught, the suspect will face first-degree robbery charges. He is described as being between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 8 inches tall and between 150 and 160 pounds. The suspect has brown to dark hair and was wearing a black ball cap, black sweatshirt, black pants and dark aviator type sunglasses during the robbery.

“If anyone has any information, we’re urging them to come forward or alert Crime Stoppers,” Stroer said.